


Origins of a Hero

by Obisexual



Category: LazyTown
Genre: Backstory, Elf Sportacus (LazyTown), Gen, Headcanon, Lots of stuff will happen, Meta, Number Nine (LazyTown) Being an Asshole, Sorry I'm taking so long, Sportacus (LazyTown) Has a Different Name, Trans Sportacus (LazyTown), eventual angst, multi-chapter, people get hurt, so much meta
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-19
Updated: 2018-06-12
Packaged: 2018-10-21 03:00:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10676310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Obisexual/pseuds/Obisexual
Summary: A look into the backstory of Iceland's favorite vegan. No smut in this but I'll make up for it with angst.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This one is definitely not gonna be updated as often as my previous one but holy fuck is it going to be a long one. Probably. I promised I'd do it and I'm going to. I might actually complete it.

It all started when a star fell from the sky. At first, it appeared to be a meteor entering the atmosphere. One that humans might incorrectly call a “shooting star” and foolishly grant wishes upon. This, however, was just an ordinary star. One that burned brightly in the deep of space for everyone on Earth to see. It was ordinary, at least, until it had landed.

When it collided with the Earth’s surface, a huge crater was formed, as most things that crash into the Earth’s surface tend to do. Had it not been for where it landed however, there would have been a much larger crater where it was. When the star crashed, it would have exploded, destroying everything around it, had there not been a special kind of magic in the area. One specifically made to protect the environment and those living in it.

Instead of destroying all the trees and wildlife, the star imploded in on itself in a small supernova. The end result was a crystal no bigger than a watermelon. Perfectly spherical and glistening in the moonlight, it sparkled with the remnants of stardust that it had come from.

The magic that it had gathered was very strong and had peculiar powers, indeed. Its main task was to protect the village of Elves hidden in the forest. A human walking past their village would easily miss it since their human eyes are easily fooled by simple magic tricks. The Elves weren’t afraid of the humans, but humans were quite stupid and violent and it was much easier to have humans believe Elves didn’t exist rather than have a human stumble upon them and try to start a war with them for some reason that only humans could justify.

However, now that some of this magic was inside a star, there was no telling what it could do. Well, not until one of the Elves had stumbled upon the star. They had come to see the supposed meteor crash but were very surprised to see a crystal in the middle of the large crater where they had expected a large space rock to be. It made them very curious.

Curious enough to climb down into said crater and touch it.

A bright white bolt of lightning shot through their arm and spread through their body, sending them backwards onto their back. Their vision blurred for a few minutes while the ringing in their ears died down. The only thing more shocking than what had just happened was what they saw when their vision had cleared. On the ground beside the Star Crystal was a small baby with hair as white as stardust and a bright pink scar on their chest in the shape of a ‘1’. Beside them was a tiny shard from the Star Crystal that had fallen off. It was glowing red.

The first Hero.

Some of the Elves’ magic that had been used to protect their village had been concentrated in this small infant. There was a strong aura about this child that could not be ignored. Its white hair and piercing silver eyes seemed to be even more supernatural than the star. All of the other Elves could sense its enchantment and knew that the strange baby was destined for greatness. It already had the magic of a protection spell flowing through it, guaranteeing a safe life.

But one Elf had a different train of thought.

If this baby was as magical and powerful as everyone was making it out to be, who was to say it wouldn’t be a danger?

No one really liked him that much.

The protection magic refused to bring harm to anyone. 

His protest  _ had _ , however sparked a tradition.

The child was taken from their “parent” and raised by a council of Elves to better understand their magic and abilities. They grew up strong and became a hero to the world.

As for the star, it had been carefully stored in a chest for fear of what destroying it might do, gathering dust there for years until it would be needed again. The task of saving the entire world had become so harsh in the oncoming years, that seven more Heroes had been made. Now there were eight of them. Seven to protect the continents and one to travel the seas, protecting the islands and waters in between.

The crystal shards, as they had discovered, were linked to the Heroes' life forces. Coming close to death would cause the crystal to glow red, once a Hero’s energy was restored, it would flash a bright white, and when a Hero’s life ended, the crystal would shatter.

 

* * *

 

 

All was well for centuries, until another sought the Star for their own evil uses. It was of no surprise that one with a cruel heart would try to abuse the magic that it possessed. An Elf with hair green like seaweed and a heart as black as coal had earned his way onto the council sworn to protect the star. Unfortunately for him, so had another Elf, who saw through his friendly guise and never left him by himself. Even when he thought he was.

The corrupt Elf had opened the Star Crystal's chest one day when he thought he was alone. Though it was missing some pieces, it still sparkled just as it had done the first night it fell. Raising a child for a few hundred years wouldn’t be so bad if the end result was having the ultimate life form at your command, he supposed. The Elf watching him, however, had jumped out of her hiding place in a panic.

Their hands had both touched the star at the same time and two similar bolts of lightning channeled through them. They both fell to the ground, unable to move. The commotion had alerted other Elves and nearly half the village had come to see what had happened. No one had been prepared for what they saw; two Elves lying on the ground with two small babies with colored lines running through their bodies. A boy with green hair and a girl with cerulean and mahogany-colored hair. Both covered in freckles and sharing the same number on their chest. A number ‘9’.

The lights in the babies had faded and the star had developed a crack. The extra amount of unexpected magic being used had nearly destroyed it, as well as nearly killing the two Elves who had been incapacitated by the lightning. Their life was nearly drained from their bodies and they were unconscious, though their hearts still beat.

Once it had been explained what had happened, the green-haired Elf had been dealt with properly. Isolated in a room with all brain functions eradicated, he would spend the rest of his days only lying in bed, breathing and staring at a wall. As for the woman, she was denied any contact with the children, as the council feared they would be dangerous, given the circumstances of their births.

And the children? Unsure of what their hearts would be like, they had been paired off separate from the rest of the others for safety. Locked away in an airship stocked with everything needed to survive, they had been shut away from the world. They would be raised by the AI in the ship. If they proved themselves worthy of the title, they would be made Heroes. If their hearts were as dark as everyone had feared, they would share the fate of the seaweed-haired Elf.

Taking pity on the babies, the council had allowed their “mother Elf” to integrate herself into the AI, letting them grow up with a mother’s voice guiding them. Having sacrificed her ability to speak, she watched them, hoping that their hearts would glow brighter than the star they came from.

The boy, Graenaalfurinn, had grown up with a charming smile and a prideful attitude. His sister, Hetjanaalfurinn, was as sweet as honey with the temper of a hornet. While they both had proven thus far to be worthy of the title “Hero”, they still had plenty to learn before they earned it.

That is where this story begins.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hetjan is a difficult child who just wants to be a child and play. But everyone else wants her to be a Hero and save the world alongside her brother who's a buttface.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry that this took so long to update. I've done a lot of research for this fanfic and I've been busy with life.

It was a peaceful day in the wood. The sun was shining brightly and there was a cool, light breeze from the north. A day that would be perfect for children to go out and play with their friends. Hetjan could see them outside the window, laughing and talking with each other. It looked like so much fun. How she would have loved to join. To have friends and to play games with them. They all looked so happy. Who wouldn’t be happy being able to play all day with their friends? Laughing and getting scrapes from playing in the dirt.

A much better way to spend the day than sitting in the airship and having to learn. Ever since they’d woken up, she and Grænna had been sitting on the floor with their noses stuck in textbooks. Grænna didn’t mind that much. He remembered things very easily and was considered very intelligent because of this fact. Because of this, he had already gotten much further in his reading than his sister, who had been struggling to read the same page over and over again.

She had tried reading her book and once she accepted that she couldn’t, she’d resorted to moping on the floor and staring angrily at the pages. When she decided she was done being angry, she had started staring out the window. She often wondered what it was like playing with friends and not having to worry about whether or not you would ever be worthy of being a Hero. Playing games and laughing with other kids. They didn’t have to worry about math or reading.

Well, they did, but Hetjan didn’t know that. There were many things she didn’t know yet. She owed that to always being in the airship and never having been allowed to leave. For the safety of the village, the council constantly insisted. Hetjan didn’t believe it. They were scared of them. That was something she _did_ know.

Whenever the council came to check up on their progress, they never stood too close to her or Grænna, talking to them at a distance. It’s not like they were too stupid to notice. They both were very aware of what the council thought of them.

Not that Hetjan cared what they thought. She was a child. Children didn’t care what adults thought. All they cared about was making friends and playing in the dirt.

But this was her life. An eternity of helping other people who didn’t even like her. How perfect.

Hetjan sighed, lost in thought, imagining how perfect her life would be if she’d been born a normal child.

Then she was pelted in the temple. She jumped and sat up straight. On the floor beside her knee was a crumpled up paper ball. Stifled laughter was coming from the other side of the room and she saw her brother casually looking away as if pretending to be innocent.

Hetjan scrunched her face up in a scowl and threw the paper ball back at him, hitting him in the nose. He shouted, holding the spot and looked at her with a scornful look on his face. “What was that for!?”

“Þú ert sá sem kastaði mér fyrst!” She argued, storming up to him. He rolled his eyes, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

“I don’t know what you’re saying! I speak English! Like a normal person!”

Hetjan’s scowl grew even more and she opened her mouth to argue with him. She had could speak English pretty well, but she didn’t like it. What was the point in even trying with him? He wouldn’t understand her. In both senses of the term. It was easier to let him think that she was stupid than to try and explain to him. Getting him to understand some things was like talking to a wall. Even _she_ couldn’t explain what it was.

She shut her mouth and sat down. Grænna let out a satisfactory scoff and opened his book again, happy that he’d gotten the last word in. Then something hard struck him in the forehead. He winced in pain and rubbed his forehead, checking for blood. There was no blood, only throbbing and perhaps a bruise forming.

He looked over at Hetjan, who was far from pretending she was an innocent bystander; she was standing, feet spread, shoulders hunched, and her nostrils flaring, looking ready to fight. Grænna stood. “What is your problem!? Oh, never mind, what’s the point in even asking you? Because you wouldn’t be able to understand me!”

He said as if he’d forgotten that she’d responded to him moments ago.

Instead of realizing how stupid he sounded or waiting for her to respond, he kept up his side of the argument.

“This is why everyone thinks that I’m going to be the Hero and you’re going to be the failure. It’s just logic. I’m a boy and boys are just smarter and strong-”

“Galdur eldflaugum!” Hetjan’s arm shot out and a blue ball of light shot out of her hand and struck him, knocking him into one of the walls. Before Grænna could get a grasp on what had happened, Hetjan had jumped on him, attacking him. He tried pushing her off, but she was determined to win this fight. Grænna slapped the palm of his hand against her ear and she rolled off of him, hissing in pain.

“You psychopath! You bit me!” Grænna shouted, holding his arm. “You drew blood! Now I’m gonna get some sort of weird disease thanks to you!”

“You’re the…the one who’s being a…being a sexist jerk and…and throwing things at me!” Hetjan started to sob, stuttering over her words.

“Oh so you _can_ speak English. At least there’s _one_ thing you know how to do!-” Their argument was cut short by a loud ear-piercing whistle that filled the air.

They both cowered, covering their ears and looked at the airship monitor, staying silent for fear of what would happen if either of them spoke again. “Are the both of you quite done?” It asked in a stern voice. Neither of them answered, looking at the ground. “Excellent. Grænna, leave your sister alone. She is your teammate and you should treat her with respect no matter if her learning pace is slower than yours or not. And she is your equal. Her gender does not make her any less qualified than you. If you believe so, then you clearly have not studied well enough.” Hetjan stuck her tongue out at Grænna but the airship directed its attention to her. “Hetjan, you are required to read, write, and speak English if you are to become a Hero. You will be in regions that speak that language as you get older and you must be able to communicate with the people you save. If you cannot do that, then you cannot be a Hero.”

Hetjan crossed her arms. “I don’t _want_ to be a Hero. I want to be a regular kid! I don’t want to spend all of my time reading books and learning and training! I want to go out and play! Why can’t I just let Grænna be the Hero since he wants to be one?”

“It is your duty to train yourself to become a Hero to gain control of the magical abilities that you possess and if you don’t then you could hurt yourself or an innocent person.”

“But I-”

“Your only other choice in the matter is to face the consequence your father faced.”

Hetjan groaned then pouted, feeling as if the monitor was giving her a scorning look only a mother could give. Of course, this was stupid, as the airship was not a living creature – though she sometimes thought otherwise. She didn’t like having conversations with it. Computers shouldn’t be able to talk to you. Because then they’d be able to tell you how stupid you actually are.

“Your destiny was formed when your parents touched the Star Crystal and you and your brother were created. The both of you have very powerful magic inside you and-”

“Yes, yes. I know the story. Can’t we at least go out and play? Isn’t it good for Heroes to be friendly and social with the ones they’re going to protect so they can be familiar with everyone and the area they live in?”

Hetjan smiled hopefully but groaned louder when the ship gave a direct “no”. She slumped to the ground. “Would you like to know why the answer is no?”

“No.”

“Then I would recommend that you both stop this quarrel and get back to your studies before I am forced to summon the superiors from the village here to discipline you.”

Both siblings shot each other angry looks and opened their textbooks again, continuing their reading.

All in an average day in the life of the two Heroes-in-training. It was probably for the best that an AI was looking after them. Obviously, raising them was next to impossible for any normal person to do. Thankfully, Elves had magic and technology that humans had yet to even grasp and dealing with two little hellacious children such as Hetjan and Grænna was made into a simple task. Not one that the AI particularly enjoyed, but one that it would do better than anyone else could do nonetheless.

* * *

The moon had long since rose and the children were both in bed. Or, one of them was. Grænna, like always, had gone to be at the time he was supposed to and was fast asleep.

Hetjan, on the other hand, had chosen to do something completely and utterly stupid.

Ignore everything she’d been told not even 24 hours ago.

At the door, she looked over at Grænna, hoping that he would stay asleep. When he remained idle, she opened the door and smiled, feeling the night breeze. It was probably the first time she’d ever felt it. She could hear strange noises. Chirping. A cricket.

No.

_Crickets_.

A frog hopped by. Everything in the woods looked and sounded so beautiful at night. She took her shoes off and jumped on the grass, closing the airship door before the ship started to realize that its door was open at night.

The grass felt so good under her feet. Wet and…grassy. But good. Wet was hardly a feeling she ever experienced. Then she rolled around in the grass, ignoring a few rocks that she came across. And the _mud puddles_. Mud felt gross and it was nasty-looking. But _jumping_ in them was so much fun. Seeing the blue of her pants get soaked into a brown, possibly stained forever that color, also helped her mood.

During all of her jumping and splashing, she failed to notice the tree that her face crashed into. After checking for a nosebleed, thankfully there was none, and upon further inspection of the tree, she decided that this was the perfect tree to climb. Since it seemed to have chosen her by smacking her in the face.

While climbing, Hetjan realized something: she was superbly bad at climbing.

She scraped her knees on the bark, her foot slipped, making her regret not wearing shoes, and she almost fell out of the tree on more than one occasion smacking a mosquito who tried to land on her.

Hetjan made it to the lowest branch and decided that that was where she was going to stay. She pulled herself up and looked at the view. The village lights were like stars on the earth. It was all so beautiful. She wondered how many people there were and if any of them wanted to meet her as much as she wanted to meet them. Again, there were many things she didn’t know yet. This was one of them. Another was how strong the branch she was sitting on actually was. The latter, she found the answer to after she hit the ground with a hard thud.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can promise that anything that doesn't make sense will be answered in later chapters. Or I'll find a way to make sure it does.
> 
> You can find me on Tumblr @ Spobforpresident. Feel free to message me and talk to me about things you think might happen next or what you want to see happen.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hetjan deals with her obnoxious brother and meets a new friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long but I've been super busy with life and adulting. Also it's super hard to think of things to make children's lives interesting. My friend suggested childhood trauma. I suggested she see a therapist. Not beta read because it's 3 AM.

“Hold still or else this is going to hurt more than it already should.”

“I’d hold still if it didn’t hurt!”

Hetjan shouted as the bone in her arm magically set back into place and healed in an instant. She pulled her arm away and rubbed it, looking up at the councilman. He stared back down at her, his face blank and unchanging. “Maybe you have learned your lesson about ignoring rules.”

“Only the stupid ones.”

He rolled his eyes. “You are lucky your brother was awake to find you or else you would have been out there for hours.”

Hetjan glanced over at Grænna, who was hiding a smirk behind the book he was reading. She hadn’t been completely sure how she’d gotten back in the airship after she fell; all she knew was that she had fallen unconscious and woke up with the man looming over her with that disappointed look plastered on his face.

 

* * *

 

 

Grænna hadn’t been asleep at all. Much like his sister, he had been wide awake the previous night. He’d heard her leave and sat up just soon enough to see the airship door close behind her. He watched out the window, seeing her playing outside. Why did she want to sneak out just to jump in mud puddles? It was stupid and childish. Maybe he’d just go back to bed and let Hetjan get in trouble on her own. He wasn’t going to get himself in trouble for her mistake.

He crawled back into his bed, keeping an eye on the door, waiting for her return. Maybe he should lock her out; that ought to teach her a lesson. He walked over to the door, getting ready to lock it, then something strange happened that caught him off guard, making him almost shriek.

A muffled beeping was coming from a small compartment in the wall. Inside, his crystal shard was lighting up and making an ungodly noise. That could only mean one thing.

“Someone’s in trouble.”

As if the crystal knew that he realized what was going on, it went silent and he shut the compartment and ran out of the airship.

There wasn’t a soul to be found; everyone was asleep. Grænna groaned, realizing who was in trouble. He looked around for Hetjan. She was rather elusive when she wanted to be.

Then he heard the branch snap and saw Hetjan on the ground. There didn’t seem to be any blood, but her arm had been bent into a rather unfortunate angle.

Grænna crouched down, looking closely at her. “Hetjan? Are you alive?” He whispered. No response. He rested a hand on her chest and sighed with relief and exasperation, feeling a heartbeat. She was alive, but unconscious. He picked her up, dragging her back to the ship by her under arms.

When they had gotten to the ship, he groaned, dropping her with a thud. How he wanted to mock her. There was a strong urge in him to wake her up simply just so he could laugh at her to her face. Unfortunately, it looked like she was going to be unconscious for a while.

Only half past nine. He’d worry about her after he got more sleep. If she truly wanted anyone to worry about her, she wouldn’t have snuck out.

Only after Grænna had slept for a few more hours did he actually bother to wake up the airship’s system and notify it that Hetjan had been injured.

“I woke up and she was gone, and I saw her lying unconscious under a tree. I called you as soon as I brought her into the ship.” He explained, lying through his teeth. If Hetjan had heard him, she would have almost been impressed with how convincing he sounded. Unfortunately Hetjan was a smart little turd and could not be impressed by mediocre acting skills.

* * *

“You’re such a jerk.”

Hetjan sat on her bed, staring at Grænna. Her face always seemed to be stuck in a scowl whenever they were in the same room. Grænna merely rolled his eyes. “What are you talking about?”

“You know what I’m talking about.”

“Clearly I don’t.”

Hetjan stormed over to him and punched him in the arm. “You saw me unconscious and you didn’t try to wake me up!?”

“Well if you were unconscious, then you obviously couldn’t wake up.”

Hetjan growled and sat down, crossing her arms. She didn’t have anything to say to that Talking to him always made her feel stupid. She flexed her arm and moved it around, making sure that it was good to use. It hurt. Setting your bones back in place and fixing them in 3 seconds flat usually did. Instead of pursuing the argument, she chose to open her textbook and try reading again.

“When do we start doing the actual Hero training?” She asked, irritated.

“You will start your training once you’ve completed your basic education course. Assuming you can stay inside long enough to _pass_ your basic education course.” The airship’s condescending voice came.

Grænna choked back a laugh and hid his face behind a book. Hetjan shot him a dirty look and pouted. Even the _airship_ thought she was an idiot. Just what she needed to make her day. She dragged her book over by the window, watching the outside, missing the feeling of the wind and the grass already. It was too quiet. Too…inside. “Can’t we at least open the door? Or a window?”

The airship seemed to let out an exasperated sigh. “Very well.”

Hetjan smiled and walked over, opening the door. A calming breath passed through her nostrils as the breeze gently hit her face. Even though she had suffered the fate of a broken arm, the thought of going out again sent a chill of excitement up her spine. She smiled, standing on her tip toes, looking across the horizon, hoping to see the village during the day.

Villagers went about their daily lives, ignoring the giant airship housing two Heroes in training in the middle of the woods as if that were something _every_ place had. They all looked so happy. It made her wonder what the rest of them had thought of her. Maybe they’d like her if they got to know her. She sighed, looking back down at her book, trying to get her mind back on track.

Grænna shouted, getting hit in the face with a thick, leather ball. A girl about their age ran up to the door. “Mér þykir það leitt! Er í lagi með þig?”

“What?” Grænna asked, irritated. “Watch where you’re throwing your things, porky.”

She scowled at him. “Fine. I’m _not_ sorry. Give me back my ball so I can go play with my friends, seaweed head.”

“No. It hit me in my face it’s mine now.”

“Wow. If everything that hit you in the face belonged to you, people must give you a lot of things.”

He rolled his eyes. “You can’t talk to us. We’re Heroes.”

“You’re like 8.”

Hetjan walked over, snatching the ball from Grænna and handed it back to the girl. “I’m sorry about him.”

She smiled, taking it. “I’m used to it. My name is Imelda.”

“I’m Hetjan. Between you and me, I wish you would have kicked the ball a little harder.” She heard Grænna mutter under his breath mocking her.

“Do you want to come play with me and my friends?”

“I can’t. We’re not allowed to leave.”

“Oh. That’s dumb.”

“I say go.” Grænna said.

“What?” Hetjan asked.

“Go. You’re already going to try and sneak out again. Might as well do it where you’ll have someone there with you when you get yourself hurt.”

Hetjan crossed her arms. “I’m not stupid I know what you’re doing. If I leave you’ll tell the council.”

“Why would I do that? I don’t _care_ if you leave. If you get into trouble, _you’re_ the one who gets taken away.”

Imelda growled at him threw the ball, hitting him in the nose. “Keep the ball. Poco desagradable barato asqueroso montón de basura.” She stormed back down to her friends. Hetjan sat where she was, taking in what had just happened. Grænna was holding his nose fighting back tears. She tried not to laugh at how sad he looked.

While he was whining about his nose being broken, which even Hetjan could tell from where she was that it was just fine, she took the ball and rolled it down the hill back to Imelda and her friends. It hit her feet and she picked it up. She looked back up at Hetjan and grinned. She raised the ball to her, asking her to join. Hetjan looked behind her at Grænna and turned back to Imelda, shaking her head no.

Imelda sighed and nodded. Hetjan sat down and continued to ignore Grænna still complaining about his sore nose. Each day it baffled her more and more that he would grow up to save people. Or that people believed he was fit to do so. It was amazing what he could convince people of.

_Maybe he could convince them to let me ditch this hero shtick._ Hetjan laughed at her own joke and looked back outside at the kids. She scribbled a note on a piece of paper threw it at them, pegging Imelda in the back of the head.

Imelda picked up the ball and uncrumpled it and looked at the note.

_Do you want to hang out tonite?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FAQ:  
> Why did Graenna call her porky?  
> Because she's chubby
> 
> Was she supposed to speak Spanish?  
> That was intentional as she's a Spaniard
> 
> What did she say?  
> Icelandic: I'm so sorry! Are you okay?  
> Spanish: Little nasty cheap filthy pile of crap
> 
> You know it's spelled "tonight"?  
> She's 8, Harold.
> 
> Also I'm taking writing commissions so if you want me to write you a story, you can message me on my tumblr spobforpresident because I think that'd be fun. Also I'd get money and you'd get a story you want that you wouldn't have to write. So it's a win-win.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The three amigos end up crashed and end up in a hell of a situation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I know it's been like a year since I've updated. I've got a job now, I found out I'm non-binary. I'm in a relationship kind of. I was out of internet for a week so there were no distractions to keep me from continuing. I have a couple more chapters done, too. Wasn't hard since they're only about 2,000 words each.

The seasons went on and as they did, Hetjan and Imelda became the best of friends, sneaking out when the moon was high in the sky and playing under the cover of the night. Of course, any right-minded child would know that it wasn’t wise to sneak out after such a bitter defeat or knowing that any moment Grænna would stop being nice and rat them out.

Unfortunately, Hetjan was not right-minded.

There _were_ times Hetjan was almost caught playing at night.

The occasional night councilman coming to check on the two siblings to make sure that Hetjan wasn’t doing the exact thing Hetjan was doing.

Or sometimes when Imelda’s brothers came out to bring her inside and chide her for being out past her bedtime.

The term “unfortunately” is used as a very, very, _very_ big understatement.

Hetjan and Imelda had fun running around at night. It let Hetjan be free even just for a few hours. It gave Imelda a new friend that she confided in without hesitation.

Together, they felt like they could do anything.

Including flying an airship away from the village.

The two crawled up into the ship, laughing excitedly.

“Do you really think you can fly this thing away from here?”

“I don’t see why not. It can’t be that hard.”

Imelda sat up in the pilot’s seat. “Strap in.”

“What about Grænna?”

They looked back at Grænna, who was snoring away on his cot.

Hetjan slowly walked up, trying to see if he was really asleep. Hetjan moved a finger to poke him and he slapped the hand away, rolling over to face the wall. “Whatever you’re doing leave me out of it.”

“Then you should get out of the ship.” Imelda said.

He sat bolt upright and looked at her. “What are you doing here?”

“We’re gonna fly this ship out of here.”

He kicked his blanket off and scrambled over to her, pulling her out of the chair. “Get out now or I’m telling the council. About everything. Sneaking out at night, throwing notes to each other during studies…”

“What do you care?”

“They love me. If I let you go, it’ll look bad on me. And I won’t even be a good kid anymore. Why should I have them treat me like they treat you?”

Imelda huffed. “We’re not gonna run away forever. Hetjan just wanted to see the world.”

“I thought we _were_ running away.” Hetjan said.

“Shh.”

Grænna stormed over to the airship’s alert button, but Imelda tackled him and pinned him to the ground. “Hetjan, lift off!”

“I don’t know how to fly!”

“Consider this your first lesson.”

Hetjan took a breath and sat in the seat, looking at the controls. Hetjan looked at all the levers and pulled one. The wings of the airship shifted but nothing else happened.

Another lever.

The ship started rolling downhill towards the village.

“Uh-oh.”

“Uh-oh? What’s uh-oh?”

“Where are the brakes?”

“You just released the brakes, genius!” Grænna shouted, pushing Imelda off of him. His crystal started blinking rapidly again.

“What’s that thing!?” Imelda asked, covering her ears.

“It means someone’s in trouble.”

“Who?”

“The entire town!” He shoved Hetjan out of the pilot’s seat and sat down. “We’re not gonna be able to stop in time.” He pulled a joystick down and spun the steering wheel quickly. “We need to get in the air or else everyone is going to die.”

“What do we do?”

“You two go sit in a corner and don’t touch anything!”

He pulled the steering wheel down towards him and pressed a pedal rapidly, trying to fill the balloon with air.

The kids looked at the quickly approaching town in the horizon.

“It’s not going in the air!” Hetjan said.

“I know!”

“We’re gonna crash!”

“I know!”

Grænna jerked the brake lever and felt the ship jerk along with it. Hard enough to tip over.

Instead of tipping, though, it floated in the air. Hetjan looked out the window, seeing the tiny houses below them. “We did it!”

“This isn’t what was supposed to happen.” Grænna said. They both looked at Imelda, whose eyes were glowing yellow and bright yellow bursts of magic were shooting out of her hands.

“Are you making us float?” He asked.

“You’re very observant.” She spun her hands in the air and the ship started moving.

“I didn’t know you could do magic.” Hetjan grinned. “Can you teach me?”

“Sure. Once I don’t drop the ship.” She grunted, her eyes glowing brighter.

Grænna started pacing, biting his nails. “They’re gonna kill us. When the council finds out the ship is gone, they’ll come after us and fry our brains and we’ll be just like our father.”

“He’s not our dad and we’re not gonna get in trouble because they won’t find us.” Hetjan said.

“No. He’s your dad. Only someone like him would be stupid enough to steal a ship that they don’t know how to fly!”

“And only someone as stupid as him would think that they’d even consider punishing you when we both know they’ll just find a way to blame me.”

“Because you’re to blame!”

“I just want to be a normal kid! I don’t want to be a Hero. I hate the color blue! I hate this ship! But does that matter? No! Because it never matters!”

“Well I have good news and bad news for you. Good news. You’ll never be a Hero. Bad news. Even if you do become a Hero, no one will want you as one. So either way, your life is meaningless. Just like keeping you around.”

Hetjan growled and tackled him, scratching at him.

Imelda tried to calm them down, but neither of them listened. They were too busy shouting at each other. They bumped into her, knocking her over.

The magic around the ship disappeared and it started falling out of the sky.

Grænna tried to pull the ship up.

Imelda tried to get the magic back around it.

Neither were successful.

The ship hit the ground and tumbled, knocking around its inhabitants.

When it came to a stop, all three children were bloodied and bruised and worst of all, unconscious.

  

* * *

 

 

A sharp pain struck Hetjan in the back.

 Hetjan shouted and sat up.

Another pain.

A gruff and angry voice was shouting.

Through Hetjan’s unswollen eye, Hetjan made out the figure of a short man barking orders at other, much smaller figures.

Children.

The man walked up and shoved Hetjan with the other children.

 Hetjan looked around, searching for Imelda or Grænna. If they were there, Hetjan couldn’t tell. Hetjan gently touched their swollen eye.

It hurt.

Everything hurt.

Hetjan’s ears twitched, finally realizing the sound of a whip cracking.

Then Hetjan realized another thing:

There was blood on their back.

Hetjan keeled over, holding their stomach.

One of the children behind them quickly helped them to their feet and shoved some bread in their hand. “Eat it quick. You don’t want Mr. Kicker to see you on your knees. Or you’ll-”

“Or you’ll what?” The voice asked.

The child gasped and stood up straight. “I’m sorry, sir. I was just-”

“No. Please tell me. What will happen if I see a child on their knees?”

The child swallowed nervously. “You’ll give them extra lashings for resting on the job.”

Hetjan looked up at him angrily, eating the bread slowly.

“You’re one of the kids I rescued from that ship crash.” The man named Mr. Kicker said.

“Rescued!?-” Hetjan growled, trying to stand. Hetjan groaned, still hurting all over.

He grabbed them by the hair. “Yes. Rescued. If it weren’t for my kindness, you and your friends would be dead.” He struck them and picked up the bread. “I decide who lives and who dies. I decided that you live. What do you say to someone who does you a kind favor like that?”

“Fuck…you…”

The children gasped and backed away.

Mr. Kicker laughed. “You don’t know how things work here. If you want it to stay that way, you should take that back.”

Hetjan looked up at him and spat in his eye.

He struck the whip across their face.

 Hetjan wiped away the blood and looked up at him, panting angrily.

“Let me introduce myself. I’m Mr. Kicker. I own these mines. And you and your buddies are my newest workers.”

“I don’t care who you are. You’ll be dead if you hurt Imelda.”

“If she’s anything like you, I can guarantee that she’s already dead.”

 Hetjan pushed his arm away and tried to charge at him, but fell to their knees when a shock was sent through their body.

 Hetjan grunted, twitching and panting.

Mr. Kicker stood over them, holding a remote. “You’d better watch yourself, kid. This isn’t Fairyland or wherever you’re from. In here, it doesn’t matter what magic powers you have. All that matters is how much work you do and how quick you do it. If you can’t do either, then you’ll only wish you died in that crash.” He looked around at the children staring at them. “All of you get back to work if you want to make it to your next rations!”

They all quickly went back to their jobs.

Hetjan was finally able to stand and felt around their neck.

A shock collar.

A kick to the butt from Mr. Kicker sent them back in line with the other children. He laughed as he greedily ate the bread he had stolen from Hetjan and walked away.

One of the kids behind Hetjan held up an apple. It had already had a few bites taken out of it.

“Eat as much as you like. It’ll probably be the only meal you get today.” They whispered.

 Hetjan nodded and took a bigger bite than they would have liked to. It was bruised on the inside and soft in most places and tasted kind of like coal, but at this moment in time, it tasted like the best thing Hetjan had ever had in their life. Hetjan handed the apple back, despite the child’s insistence on them keeping it. Hetjan looked up at the lookout post Mr. Kicker was standing in. He was staring down at them through a spyglass.

An anger boiled in Hetjan.

In that moment, Hetjan knew that no matter how long it took, Mr. Kicker was going to die.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like, leave a kudos (or a comment that says kudos if you've already left kudos).
> 
> I have a URL change. Instead of Spobforpresident, you can find my Tumblr at Sexycraisinthanos.tumblr.com


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hetjan starts shit and tries to handle the Mr. Kicker situation.

It was painful and laborious work that most people wouldn’t think to employ children to do.

Mr. Kicker wasn’t like most people.

He believed that children were the best workforce.

They were young, plentiful, expendable.

You could work them to death and they’d never be strong enough to stand against you.

Children were too weak and scared to fight against an adult, let alone an adult that had weapons he used against them.

And the best part was you didn’t have to pay them.

It was a flawed ideal, but a good enough one that kept his coal mine running.

Occasionally, he’d get children that praised him and did everything he told them to do without hesitation or question.

More often than not, however, were children that were terrified and weak. They couldn’t understand why any person would do this to children.

And sometimes he’d get children who’d do as he said only to plot his demise in secret.

Due to recent circumstances, the latter type of children had recently increased.

Imelda and Grænna were sent to the labor fields. Carrying heavy loads across the mine all day with no breaks.

Most of the time, it wasn’t too bad.

Just pushing a wheelbarrow of coal to a dumpsite.

Occasionally, there were times the loads included unconscious children who had passed out due to dehydration or starvation.

Most of the time, they lived.

Occasionally, they would never wake up.

No one knew for sure what happened to their bodies, but on those days, no one dared to eat the food served to them.

Hetjan was lucky.

Their small figure made them the perfect candidate for crawling into holes and digging out coal that couldn’t be reached by the bigger kids.

Lucky in the way that if Hetjan had been assigned to any other job, Hetjan would have been under the constant watch of Mr. Kicker.

He was too busy supervising the children loading coal.

 Hetjan took this opportunity to plot.

Grænna and Imelda took the opportunity to argue.

“We wouldn’t be here if you weren’t trying to get Hetjan to be a criminal and run away!”

“We wouldn’t be here if you knew how to fly a ship!”

“We wouldn’t be here if you knew how to use magic like a real elf!”

“It was you starting a fight with Hetjan that made me lose focus! In case you forgot, you were the one who knocked me over!”

“Whatever. The council has probably noticed we’re gone and is looking everywhere for us.”

“Or they’ve found the ship’s wreckage and assumed we died.”

“There weren’t any bodies. They’ll know we got away.”

“Or these lunatics planted dead bodies to throw them off their trail.”

“None of this would have happened if you had just stayed away from my sister!”

“First of all, Hetjan isn’t your sister. Hetjan comes from the same crystal as you. That doesn’t make anyone your sibling. Second of all, it would have happened sooner. Hetjan wanted to take this ship and fly away. I’m the one who’s been keeping Hetjan here! I’ve been tutoring and helping with studies so the council wouldn’t be so mean and biased! If it weren’t for me, Hetjan would have already killed you in your sleep and left you to rot under the trees.”

Grænna scoffed. “Well you’re doing one hell of a job keeping her from taking the ship and flying away.”

Imelda growled, pulling at her hair. “I’m getting out of here.” She turned to a guard and shot a spark of lightning at them. That’s all it was. A spark.

The guard laughed and hit her with the butt end of his stick.

She fell to the ground, holding her face.

“Nice try, pointy ears. Those shackles are power dampening.”

He raised the stick again. “Try it again and see what kind of shock this thing can do.”

She stood, holding up her fists. “I can take you.”

“You really can’t.” Grænna said.

“Come on, old man. I’ll fight you with my bare hands!”

“Your hands are shackled!”

Imelda slid between the man’s legs and jumped on his back, wrapping the shackle chains around his throat.

Other guards pulled her off, shocking her with their cattle prods.

She shouted, but refused to let go.

“HETJAN! IF YOU CAN HEAR ME, WE’RE BOTH ALIVE! WE’RE GONNA GET OUT, YOU HEAR ME!? EVERY LAST CHILD HERE!”

The guards pulled her off and struck her in the face.

She fell to the ground and they carried her away.

“Does anyone else have any radical ideas about breaking free?” Mr. Kicker asked, walking up.

The kids were silent.

“Good.”

Grænna looked to the ground and continued his work of pushing the wheelbarrow.

Imelda’s voice had been heard by every child. It had echoed off the walls and into the ears of every child.

Some children didn’t think much of it.

There were always some children who thought that they could rescue them. Their hope died very quickly as they’d find that it was impossible to escape.

Other children were given hope. The thought of getting out and going home to their parents. It was enough to make rumors immediately start spreading.

Rumors about the heroes and how they’d free everyone.

When Hetjan heard Imelda’s voice, only one thing went through their mind.

Finding Imelda.

Hetjan started running and pushing through the children, trying to get to Imelda.

Sliding under guards, jumping over them, even shoving them out of the way.

“Imelda! I’m alive! Imelda!”

A familiar shock went through their body.

Hetjan fell to the ground, grunting and twitching.

Guards picked them up and went to drag them away, but Mr. Kicker stopped them.

“Let me talk to this one alone. I’ll take her to my office.”

They nodded and let him lead Hetjan to his office.

He sat Hetjan in a chair and sat across from them.

“You haven’t been here one day and you’ve already managed to cause talks of a rebellion.

Hetjan didn’t say anything.

Mr. Kicker clicked his tongue. “If I wanted to, I could kill you right here. So give me a reason I shouldn’t.”

Again, Hetjan was silent.

“Nothing? Okay. I’ll give you a second to think it over.” He set a plate of food on the table between them. “Would you like something to eat?”

Hetjan didn’t move.

“You haven’t had anything to eat since you got here. I figured you’d be hungry.”

“The only thing I will eat is your still-beating heart with my bare hands as everyone in the coal mine watches the life drain from your eyes.”

“So that’s a no on the sandwich?”

“What do you want from me?”

“What is it you can offer me?”

“Death.”

“You pointy-eared children are weird.”

“I’ve been called worse.”

“I believe it.” He took a bite of the sandwich. “So here’s the deal. I have your friend in a dungeon. Her fate is currently being decided. Right now it’s tied between death and cutting her hands off. Of course, cutting her hands off isn’t the best choice because how would she work? So we’re stuck on death.”

“If you hurt Imelda I’ll-”

“The deaths are usually painless. But I’d hate to kill her. She’d make a great guard someday.”

“She’d never work for you.”

“They always say that. And yet, look at how many children I have working for me.”

“They’re enslaved.”

“But they’re working. We’re getting off track. See, this is where you come in. You’re deciding her fate.”

“So why drag me into it? You know I’ll say release her.”

“I’m hoping for it. You see, if you say release her, you’ll take her place instead. And then she’ll know she’s living, but you died.”

“And if I say nothing?”

“Then you go back to starting rumors about a rebellion while your girlfriend dies in the dungeons.”

“She’s not my girlfriend.”

“I don’t care. So what’s your choice? Does she die? Or do you?”

“I know why you’re doing this. You want me to take her place. That way I’ll be in the dungeon and I will die of starvation. You’ll sleep easy at night knowing that there’s no way I can kill you in your sleep. Because you’re scared of me. You’re scared of us. You want to squash any hope of rebellion so the children will be obedient and you won’t have to worry about them.”

“What makes you think I’m scared of children?”

“They outnumber you. The moment they get those shock collars off, they’ll go straight through your guards and right to you. I’d give you a full five minutes before you die once they rebel. They’re angry children with mining equipment. One pickax to the head and that’s that for you. They’re hungry, too. So I imagine they’d also make quick work of your body.”

“You think they’ll eat me?”

“Just the body.”

“What about my head?”

“It’ll be held high by the person who kills you. Then it will be hung on a spit and put in front of the entrance to the mines. So anyone who comes here will know that you’re dead and your pathetic ghost still haunts the place.”

“And you think all this will happen?”

“I know it will. I’ve been planning on ways it can happen ever since I got here.”

“I see.”

“And you won’t kill Imelda. She has magic. She’s too powerful for you to kill. You’re going to make her part of a medical crew. That way she can heal children who get hurt.”

“And how do you know that?”

“I read the notes on your desk.” Hetjan pointed to a folder. “You just wanted to see if I’d let her die. So you could tell her that I chose my life over hers.”

“If you know all this then why are you still here?”

“I’ve been stalling.”

“Stalling?”

“I have something in my hands. It can kill you. I’ll cut you a deal. If you can guess what it is, I’ll let you live.”

Mr. Kicker narrowed his eyes and stood.

“No guesses? Okay. I’ll give you a hint. It goes boom and has about 10 seconds before it detonates.”

Hetjan smirked, holding up a stick of dynamite.

“That will send this entire cave collapsing on us!”

“Nope. Just this office. Tell me. Is a coal mine worth it?”

“What do you want?”

“Let us all go and I’ll defuse it.”

“You’re bluffing. You wouldn’t risk your own life.”

“5 seconds.”

He reached for the shock collar remote, but Hetjan held the dynamite higher, ready to throw it.

“What’s it worth to you?”

“Do it. I dare you.”

Hetjan threw the stick at the ceiling and ducked under the table.

The office collapsed on top of them.

The mine filled with dust and smoke.

When it cleared, the children saw the rubble of Mr. Kicker’s office.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to send me your thoughts on my Tumblr @Sexycraisinthanos

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to send me suggestions for the story or anything on my tumblr @ Spobforpresident. I have anon on so you can even send me anon hate.
> 
> But trust me. I know what I'm doing.


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